Stuffing? Check. Stiff drinks? Check. Stress? Check. 'Tis the season -- for stomachaches. "The holidays create a perfect storm for stomach problems because of all the eating, traveling, and partying," says Roger D. Mitty, M.D., chief of gastroenterology at Caritas St. Elizabeth's Medical Center in Boston. And women are especially vulnerable, since some gastrointestinal ills occur up to six times more often in women than in men. What's more, a recent survey found that during the holidays, nearly half of all women experience heightened stress, which can dramatically contribute to new tummy aches or make existing issues worse. Read on to find sweet relief for the most common holiday-time stomach woes.

THE TRIGGER: You overdo it at holiday meals.

TUMMY TROUBLE: Heartburn (also known as indigestion or acid reflux).

Getting more than your fill -- especially of hard-to-digest, rich, fatty foods such as gravy, sausage stuffing, and pie with whipped cream -- is a classic cause of indigestion, which typically feels like a searing pain in your upper abdomen and is often accompanied by nausea, bloating, belching, and a sour taste in the mouth. The burn is caused by a backwash of stomach acid into the esophagus and may be triggered by lying down within three hours after a meal, since gravity acts as an important barrier to reversed acid flow. Eating one of the season's traditional sweets, peppermint (whether in hard candy, chocolate, or cake), can also cause heartburn, because it numbs and relaxes the lower esophageal sphincter, the muscle that keeps food down in your stomach where it belongs.

If heartburn hits, ease your symptoms by taking an antacid such as Pepto-Bismol, Maalox, Tums, or Rolaids. Better yet, if you know from past experience that you're likely to suffer after a big meal, take a stomach-acid blocker, such as Pepcid Complete or Tagamet HB200, a half hour before eating. These medicines work for eight hours or longer and can prevent indigestion altogether. And try to keep your body upright for a few hours after a feast, even while you're sitting on the couch, instead of curling up for a nap.

THE TRIGGER: You're constantly on the go.

TUMMY TROUBLE: Bloating, gas, and constipation.

You may be on the move, but your bowels aren't! When you're traveling, you may not get up to your usual activity levels or get properly hydrated -- key habits for keeping waste moving smoothly through the gastrointestinal tract. You tend to eat out more too, which may mean a doughnut for breakfast instead of your usual fiber-rich cereal, and fewer fresh fruits and vegetables -- foods that act like sponges in the intestines, absorbing liquids and leading to soft, easy-to-pass stools.

"Some women get so busy at this time of year they actually forget to make time to go to the toilet," says gastroenterologist Cynthia M. Yoshida, M.D., author of No More Digestive Problems. Or you suppress the urge to go because you lack the privacy you need. (Can't relax with guests banging on the bathroom door? No kidding -- who can?) And when you hold back, stool can become dry and difficult to pass.

For relief, try an over-the-counter (OTC) laxative such as Miralax or Colace, which slowly draws moisture into the bowel. It can take one to three days to work. But you shouldn't use them for more than two weeks at a time, because they can become habit-forming, says Yoshida. If you want faster relief, go for a stimulant laxative such as Ex-Lax or Correctol, which makes the colon contract. The downside is it can trigger side effects such as cramping and a "can't wait" urge to hit the bathroom -- although you'll feel better once you have a bowel movement.

It's easy to pick up a harmful food-borne bug at a holiday potluck, says Mitty: "The more cooks in the kitchen, the greater the chance someone will be hazy about safe food-handling rules." In addition, prepared dishes are often left out for more than two hours at room temperature, giving bacteria and viruses plenty of time to multiply.

If you experience abdominal cramping, bloating, vomiting, diarrhea, and/or fever within six hours of eating at a potluck dinner, you've probably met a food-borne bacteria, such as E. coli. If you fall victim to these exact same symptoms but do so later -- say, one to three days after the event -- you've got a virus, which you can catch directly from food but also by having other contact with an infected person. This is why it's important to hand wash. Sadly, the stuff on food that makes you sick can't be seen, but it's still safer to skip the chicken if it appears undercooked. If you do get sick, the biggest risk is dehydration, which you can alleviate by sucking on ice chips or drinking water, clear broths, or noncaffeinated sports drinks like Gatorade. OTC antidiarrheal medicine such as Imodium or Pepto-Bismol may ease symptoms, but some physicians believe that loose, frequent stools are the body's way of pushing out invading bugs -- and that these meds may slow the process, actually prolonging the problem.

Most food-related bugs last anywhere from a few hours to several days and don't need to be treated with antibiotics. Contact your doctor if you've got severe stomach cramps and/or your diarrhea and vomiting don't subside after three days.

Even in the calmest of times, many women overuse non-steroidal anti-inflammatory drugs (NSAIDs) like ibuprofen, aspirin, or naproxen sodium to treat various body aches, migraines, and menstrual cramps, says Joanne A.P. Wilson, M.D., a professor of medicine-gastroenterology at Duke University Medical Center in Durham, NC. But during the holiday season, you may find yourself uncapping that bottle even more often -- to soothe muscles strained by carrying heavy packages (or heavy toddlers) through the mall, say, or to dampen a headache caused by a flight delay. Regularly popping these pain relievers can disarm the stomach's protective defenses against digestive acids, leading the stomach lining to become inflamed or to develop ulcers (open sores). As a result, you may feel a wicked, burning pain that comes and goes almost daily or experience a chronic, gnawing, dull ache in the upper area of your stomach.

Put the brakes on irritation from NSAID use by switching to a form of acetaminophen, like Tylenol, which is gentler on your stomach lining. And to help the healing, try taking OTC medications that reduce the amount of acid your stomach produces, such as Zantac or Prilosec.

If you don't feel better in two weeks, make an appointment to see your doctor, who may check you for H. pylori -- a bacteria that can cause ulcers and can be cleared up with antibiotics and acid-suppressive medications.

TUMMY TROUBLE: Severe pain that moves to your back with a fever and vomiting can mean acute pancreatitis.

Knock back too many cocktails at a big holiday bash and the result is usually a nasty hangover. But sometimes the consequence is a life-threatening condition that strikes an estimated 210,000 Americans each year: acute pancreatitis. This occurs when the pancreas, a large gland that secretes digestive enzymes, becomes inflamed, often due to an excess of alcohol. Acute pancreatitis can happen after just one night of binge drinking, or from repeatedly drinking too much alcohol. You'll know it if you have more than a hangover: An attack usually begins with a pain in your upper abdomen. It then worsens daily and begins to wrap around to your back; your belly may become very swollen and tender, and you'll have fever, vomiting, nausea, and an increased pulse rate. Get to a doctor right away, and expect a hospital stay; treatment usually requires you to receive antibiotics intravenously.

Women are 50 percent more likely than men to suffer an attack of acute pancreatitis because "we don't tolerate drinking as well as men do," says Silvia Degli-Esposti, M.D., director of Women & Infants' Center for Women's Gastrointestinal Disorders in Providence, RI. "Anything above two drinks a night is more than a woman's body can properly metabolize." So toast the holidays with a cup (or two) of good cheer -- then stop and switch to sparkling water.

If these symptoms hit two to three hours after consuming a milky drink, you may be lactose intolerant -- meaning you're one of the more than 30 million Americans who are unable to digest lactose, the main sugar in dairy products. Even if you've never had a reaction to dairy before, you may have nausea, gas, and bloating now, especially if you consume more than usual, says Yuri A. Saito, M.D., a gastroenterologist at the Mayo Clinic in Rochester, MN. It's not uncommon for lactose intolerance to crop up in adulthood if you're genetically susceptible to it because your body produces less of the enzyme needed to digest dairy as you age.

Every woman who is lactose intolerant has a different dairy threshold -- some can tolerate only tiny amounts, while others can knock back one grande latte with no problem. The trick to a settled stomach is to find your personal "tipping point" and then stay under it. To head off problems (or if you can't resist that once-a-year nog), you can buy lactase enzyme tablets or drops (Lactaid, DairyEase), which help with digestion if taken with the first sip of milk. Lactose-reduced milk is another option; it's a little pricier than standard cartons, but it tastes the same and has all the nutrients of regular milk.

THE TRIGGER: You get frazzled and frenzied.

TUMMY TROUBLE: Painful colon spasms and cramps.

For the 25 percent of women in the United States who suffer from irritable bowel syndrome (IBS), stress is a top trigger for the disorder. (Other common culprits include certain foods, medications, or even having your period.) IBS is a condition that leads to chronic, crampy, painful lower abdominal pain accompanied by constipation or diarrhea or both. If these symptoms sound familiar, you might suffer from IBS and not even realize it -- more than 76 percent of people with the disorder go undiagnosed, according to a recent study.

There's no single cure for IBS, which may be caused by a glitch in how the nerves of the intestine send messages to the brain (experts aren't really sure). Different foods aggravate symptoms in different people, so keeping a meal diary for a few weeks to find your trigger foods is essential. Your doctor can prescribe an antispasmodic, such as Bentyl, to control colon muscle spasms and reduce abdominal pain; low-dose antidepressants can help block pain signals to nerve cells; and there are also medications such as alosetron hydrochloride (Lotronex) specifically for women whose primary IBS symptom is diarrhea, and lubiprostone (Amitiza) for women who suffer mostly constipation.

Learning to better cope with your stress can also reduce your IBS symptoms -- it did so for up to 72 percent of women with the condition in a recent study from the State University of New York at Buffalo. So consider counseling, yoga classes, meditation, or long walks or hikes, but don't fail to take this immediate tension-taming step this season: Cut down on holiday commitments by simplifying the menu for your Thanksgiving dinner, scaling back on social engagements and parties, or declaring a "one gift per family, please" rule with your friends and extended family members. Your tetchy tummy will thank you.

5 Ways to Quit Your Bellyachin'

1. Snack first. Arrive at holiday parties only a little hungry and you'll be less likely to suffer indigestion from eating too much, too fast.

2. Don't share. Food poisoning can be contagious, so use only your own glass, utensils, and plate -- and avoid sampling forkfuls of other people's food.

4. Order the bubbly -- but make it seltzer, club soda, or sparkling mineral water. Otherwise, stick to plain old H2O. Keeping your alcohol intake low will lessen your chances of suffering a stomach-churning hangover or a more serious consequence like an inflamed pancreas. Staying hydrated prevents constipation too.

5. Breathe. Is the season's shopping, cooking, or kid-chauffeuring making you nuts? Close your eyes, inhale and exhale, and take a moment to regroup. Defusing the stress will help keep IBS under control and reduce your need for headache helpers like ibuprofen, which can irritate your stomach lining.